Meeting Jia Zhen

The Green and Red Pavilion.

Located in Yongle Ward, it was one of the money-devouring dens frequented by the powerful and wealthy of the Great Han Divine Capital. In the deep darkness of night, a string of pink lanterns hanging beneath the eaves cast an intimate glow.

On the second floor, in a lavishly furnished private room, Jia Zhen sat wearing a headcloth cap and brown silk robes, holding a woman with almond eyes, peach-blossom cheeks, and a wine-flushed face in his arms. His large hand slipped inside her neckline while she held a wine jug and smilingly poured wine into his mouth. Nearby, two courtesan performers sang Kunqu in lilting voices.

Jia Lian kept him company, dressed in a moon-white casual robe with a flamboyant pink scarf tied around his head.

Second Master Lian likewise held a beautiful, shapely woman in his arms: Miss Ruyan, a star courtesan of the Green and Red Pavilion.

Second Master Lian was tall and handsome, and even the lovely woman in his arms wore a noticeably warmer smile on her radiant face.

Jia Zhen cast a sidelong glance at him and inwardly cursed. Brothel girls always liked the pretty ones.

His thoughts inevitably turned to the young lady of the Qin household. Her beauty that could topple a nation, her delicately alluring figure... floated before his eyes. Looking again at the commonplace painted beauty beside him, he lost all sexual interest. He frowned and barked at the servant attending them, "What time is it already? Go and see why Brother Rong and Jia Heng still haven't arrived!"

The servant left the private room and went downstairs.

Jia Lian smiled. "Don't be impatient, Elder Brother Zhen. As I see it, Jia Heng enjoys a bit of fun too. Didn't he used to go out with Brother Rong? Once he hears you're entertaining him here, won't he come scurrying over?"

That afternoon, under Jia Zhen's "interrogation," Jia Rong had described Jia Heng's usual words and conduct around him. Good heavens! Upon hearing it all, Jia Zhen's first thought had been that wealth nurtured conscience while poverty bred crooked schemes. The penniless scholar simply thought the money was too little!

When a poor man turned belligerent, he was most likely trying to squeeze more money out of someone!

The quick-witted Feng-jie had also asked Jia Rong how much silver he had taken to persuade Jia Heng to break off the engagement.

Under Jia Zhen's fierce glare, the two hundred taels dwindled to only one hundred, enraging him so much that he demanded the family punishment be brought out on the spot.

Only Feng-jie and Jia Lian's persuasion had made Jia Zhen relent.

Believing he had "cracked the case," Jia Zhen decided this was probably the reason.

Jia Zhen stroked the beard beneath his chin, his expression chilly, and cursed, "That lawless wretch! Rong said he was fond of violence and picking fights, but I didn't believe him. If he thinks the money's too little, I'll give him another seven or eight hundred taels so he can marry a good woman. Why strike and injure someone? Such outrageous insolence! Truly a vile brat with no upbringing!"

This time, he was spending heavily and using both the carrot and the stick. He was determined to see it through.

Jia Lian smiled. "Seven or eight hundred taels would be enough to marry three wives. All that talk of not exchanging her for ten thousand gold pieces! Young men don't understand that even a single copper can bring a hero to his knees."

With seven or eight hundred taels, what sort of woman couldn't he marry? Jia Lian himself did not usually spend that much in an entire year.

Whenever he needed money, he had to wheedle it out of Feng-jie a little at a time. She would laughingly scold him, and even then might not give him any.

"When he arrives, Second Brother, help smooth things over," Jia Zhen said.

One would play the kindly red face, the other the harsh white face.

Jia Lian smiled. "Rest assured, Elder Brother Zhen. Of course I will."

Then a fierce look swept over Jia Zhen's face, and he sneered. "If he refuses the courtesy wine and insists on drinking the punishment wine, he can't blame me for disregarding our ties as clansmen!"

Watching this, Jia Lian still wore a smile on his handsome face, but inwardly shook his head.

Elder Brother Zhen was good in every other respect, but far too stubborn about everything. What sort of bride couldn't Brother Rong marry? Why did he have to steal Jia Heng's? As though he wouldn't marry at all without that young lady of the Qin household! The way he was possessed by this obsession, anyone would think he was the one getting married.

Second Master Lian, who was hardly picky about anything filthy or foul, plainly could not comprehend Jia Zhen's particular obsession.

As the two brothers talked, footsteps sounded on the stairs, followed by the servant's excited announcement. "Master, Young Master Rong and Jia Heng are here."

It was only because Jia Zhen disliked him that the servant spoke this way. Otherwise, he ought properly to have called him Master Heng.

Hearing that Jia Heng had arrived, Jia Zhen looked pleased and instinctively rose to welcome him. But his backside had barely left the stool before he caught himself and slowly sat back down. Was the boy worthy of having him go out to greet him?

As they spoke, Jia Rong entered with a youth dressed in close-fitting warrior's attire. The youth's hair was bound with a blue scarf, his posture straight, his cheeks faintly flushed with wine. Beneath two thick brows, his gaze was cold and stern. At his waist hung a fine sword of archaic design in a black scabbard.

A scholar wearing a sword when he went out in the dead of night was hardly unreasonable, was it?

For some reason, as Jia Zhen looked at that face, shadowed against the light of the octagonal lanterns in the corridor, a faint unease stirred in his heart. But he immediately buried the absurd thought.

Would he, the dignified head of Ningguo Mansion, the third-rank General of Awe-inspiring Valor, and patriarch of the Jia Family, fear some wet-behind-the-ears brat?

This was, in fact, Jia Zhen and Jia Heng's first meeting. In his mind, he had pictured the youth behaving like Jia Rong or Jia Yun of their clan, entering with a timid, shrinking manner.

But meeting those calm eyes made him rather uncomfortable.

Jia Lian, by contrast, felt none of this. He rose with a warm smile and greeted him. "You must be Brother Jia Heng. I've heard much of your name these past few days. Now that we meet, you truly are a fine-looking young hero, striding like a dragon and pacing like a tiger."

Second Master Lian was quite capable in his dealings with others. With that gentle smile on his handsome face, Jia Heng could hardly strike a smiling man. He cupped his hands. "I, too, have long admired your name, Second Brother Lian."

Second Master Lian, the foremost lover of other men's wives in Dream of the Red Chamber-how could he not know him?

That was only because he belonged to Cao Gong's pen. Had Li Yu written him, the final forty chapters of Dream of the Red Chamber would surely have given Second Master Lian a plot in which Heaven's justice came full circle and retribution never missed its mark.

Jia Lian's smile broadened. "A pleasure, a pleasure. Brother Jia, please sit."

As they spoke, host and guest took their seats.

Jia Lian exchanged a look with Jia Zhen, who waved away the courtesans singing Kunqu. Then a delicate fragrance, like musk and orchids, drifted over as a pretty, graceful woman approached with light steps. Holding a mottled bamboo fan before her face, she smiled sweetly. "Master Heng..."

Jia Heng frowned. "What is this for?"

Seeing his reaction, Jia Lian smiled. "I thought that since you're young, Brother Heng, we brothers might relax a little together."

Jia Heng said evenly, "I have no need of this. In youth, when the blood and vital energies are not yet settled, one must guard against lust."

Jia Lian's expression stiffened, though his smile remained. "That was thoughtless of me."

As he spoke, he signaled to the woman. She gave a soft laugh, took no offense, and withdrew to one side.

Anger appeared on Jia Zhen's face. He sneered, his gaze turning sinister. "You're putting on greater airs by the day, Brother Heng. I've sent for you again and again, invited you several times, and finally managed to get you here. We entertain you properly, only for you to come out with such principles. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were the arrogant ones who put on airs and showed no affection for our clansmen."

Jia Lian frowned at his words. There was already the smell of gunpowder in the air, right from the start. This was not looking good.

He hurriedly tried to patch things up, smiling. "You visit the Eastern Mansion from time to time, don't you, Brother Heng? I hear you're quite close to Brother Rong. Perhaps you simply aren't familiar with us yet, so you're reluctant to be overly intimate straightaway."

This was telling lies with his eyes wide open. When had the young masters of the Jia family's main line ever played together with those from its collateral branches?

Jia Heng scoffed inwardly. In the original Dream of the Red Chamber, the man whose body he had been reborn into had only shown his face when Qin of Ningguo Mansion died, coming over to await orders.

That had been Jia Heng's first of only two appearances.

Jia Rong stood to one side, smiling and repeatedly agreeing. "Speaking of it, Uncle Heng and I are about the same age. We're usually quite close and often have fun together. Outsiders often say we're just like real brothers."

Jia Heng thought, So that makes it all right to steal your own brother's marriage?

Seeing that Jia Heng said nothing and merely sat in silence, Jia Zhen reined in the anger on his face, cleared his throat, and said, "Since you and Brother Rong get along so well, Brother Heng, that makes things easy. As for Brother Rong, I've been thinking he's no longer so young. It's time to find him a good marriage and settle him down. As his father, I've been anxious beyond measure. After much effort, I chose the young lady of Qin Ye's household for him, but when I went to inquire, I learned that a childhood betrothal had been arranged years ago. I hear the man she's betrothed to is you, Brother Heng?"